Thanks to the resources from my fellow bloggers, I have found myself pouring over the NSTA website on a few occasions recently. I have been looking for articles, or some sort of resource to give me further insight into my focus question(s), and have been coming up short. In my last post, I indicated that I am interested in researching effective ways in which to communicate to my students, as well as "best" (I know that's a loaded word) methods in teaching science.
When I say "coming up short," I mean that many of the research articles and journals heavily support teaching science in a very scripted, methodological manner, without giving much thought to the nature of science (this definition captures some of what we have discussed in class). In addition, I have been stumped to find many articles on opposition to teaching to different learning styles. That's okay though, this ounce of frustration has given me more motivation to research, as well as more time to formulate questions.
Fortunately enough, I stumbled upon an insightful and informative article from the NSTA newsletter archives that is "to the point" and written in language that I can understand- not too "science-y." I was at first apprehensive about the article because it was written over 10 years ago, but I was intrigued by the title "Challenging myths: questioning common myths about science education." I highly recommend taking a few minutes to read the actual article, but basically the author, Julie Luft, outlines 5 common myths that can hinder science education for our students. In addition to what I have learned in class, this article affirms some of my thoughts/concerns that I mentioned in my last post about how to teach science effectively.
While being a student in this class, and after observing a teacher teach in a manner to "dispel" these myths, I am beginning to actually see and comprehend what effective teaching is like, and the tremendous benefit for students. In upcoming posts, I hope to interview "aforementioned teacher," and also address "questioning" in the science classroom...
If you have an opportunity to check out the article, let me know your thoughts!
I thought this article was very interesting. I really agree with the statement that "changes are not easily made." Changing a routine to something that you are not used to is difficult for almost everyone. Not only is this true with changing one's teaching practices, but in other aspects of life as well. Change takes a LOT of time and dedication. I also liked the point that each teacher should have a peer group to help evaluate the direction of the changes.
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